This Countertop Ice Maker Is My Favorite Appliance

SHOP $449, amazon.com

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If you, like me, love an iced beverage but don’t have a freezer that makes ice for you, you know the struggle when it comes to enjoying a nice, refreshing cold drink in the comfort of your own home. To me, there’s always been something that feels undignified, tedious, and not as good about freezing water in an ice cube tray or buying bags of ice—Champagne problems, I know. And room-temperature Champagne at that.

Since I discovered that countertop ice makers exist, I’ve searched far and wide for the right one. Something not too big and bulky, sure, but more importantly, one that produces the good ice. Real ice lovers know what I mean. Small, crunchy, chompable ice. Nugget ice, if you will, that floats perfectly in your drink. Then I met the machine that does it better than any other—the GE Profile Opal 1.0 Nugget Ice Maker. It makes me thirsty for an icy, refreshing glass of water just thinking about it.

SHOP $449, amazon.com

It’s the perfect size.

I live in a small New York City apartment, so countertop space is a privilege and a luxury. Most ice makers are oversized, hulking, behemoth machines, and those are simply out of the question for me and so many others. GE nailed the solution—a relatively compact ice machine designed to sit snugly on any countertop. The Opal 1.0 measures 9.67 inches wide, 17.1 inches tall, and 17.3 inches deep. Trust me when I tell you that you have room for this in your kitchen.

Here’s the thing about this machine: Once you set it up (more on that later), you kind of just forget it’s there until you want some ice. It isn’t loud in the way that many kitchen appliances can be, and it doesn’t require too much maintenance, either. Instead, it simply dispenses up to 34 pounds of ice per day. (The machine can hold up to three pounds of ice at a time, so it just depends on how much ice you’re consuming—it’s ideal for both large house parties and lonesome nights watching Netflix.)

The machine keeps the ice cold, of course, but fresh, too; it’s designed to dispense a new batch of ice every hour. Not that it even takes an hour to make ice, though. When you first set up this machine and get it running, you can start scooping ice out of it (yes, it comes with an ice scooper with a designated slot inside to hold it, too) in as little as ten minutes.

SHOP $449, amazon.com

It’s easy to use.

As you can probably guess, I like to work smarter, not harder. A machine that’s easy to set up and care for will always take the cake in my book, and the Opal 1.0 is exactly that. I won’t lie to you: Although this machine isn’t too large, it’s kind of heavy, because it’s made from stainless steel. But the hardest part about getting this thing going is lifting it to your countertop; the rest is simple.

The initial setup was quick, but figuring out how to take care of the machine afterward has a bit of a learning curve. The user manual isn’t specific, but a short YouTube video will tell you all you need to know about machine maintenance and cleaning. Upkeep calls for a good ol’ clean at least once a week to prevent mold and buildup, and you’re probably going to want to set aside a good few minutes to run the cleaning cycle, but really, that’s about as difficult as the Opal 1.0 gets.

I was also worried about the machine needing frequent water refills to keep making ice—you know, the way ice trays you keep in the freezer do—but that isn’t the case. The Opal 1.0 has a water tank that reduces the need for constant refills, thanks to a built-in reservoir that increases ice production by up to three times the standard rate, according to GE.

SHOP $449, amazon.com

And it makes damn good ice.

If you’re spending 500 bucks on an ice maker, it better produce the best ice you’ve ever tasted. Thankfully, the Opal 1.0 does.

You may think I’m overly picky, but not all ice is made the same. Ice chips melt too fast, and those giant ice cubes that take up two-thirds of the space in your cup aren’t chewable and, honestly, float annoyingly in your drink. The perfect in-between: small cubes of nugget ice, the kind the Opal 1.0 makes. They don’t melt too quickly, and you can easily crunch ’em between your teeth if you’re the kind of person who likes to chew ice.

Since I acquired the Opal 1.0, GE has released Opal 2.0, which makes the same ice but has added features like WiFi and smart connection. That model is larger, though, so if you don’t need the extra bells and whistles, the Opal 1.0 is the way to go. It’s easily the best appliance in my kitchen—I’ve probably already made back my money by crafting iced lattes and iced matchas at home instead of spending more money on iced drinks out and about.

SHOP $449, amazon.com

Photographs by Joe Lingeman. Prop styling by Heather Greene.